The Heat Is On, And It May Never Go Off.           #223

By Hank Silverberg 

This past weekend was very hot. Temperatures were in the 90's in a good part of the United States. It was more like July than May. And this may become the norm instead of the exception. 

So, we should ask the question that I always asked as a reporter covering almost anything. What does this have to do with the price of bread? 

Well, actually, A LOT. 

A report published last week in the U.K. by the government's Meteorological Office says climate change has increased the chance of oppressive heat waves hitting the Indian subcontinent to once every 3.1 years. And by the end of the century, that could be once every 1.15 years compared to an average 31 years between heat waves in the past.   

It's been really hot there for several weeks with highest temperatures up around 120 degrees Fahrenheit every day.  India and Pakistan have been scorched, dozens have died, and crops have been decimated. The heat has increased the demand for electricity and there have been blackouts forcing schools and some businesses to close. 

That kind of heat poses a risk of heatstroke that can shut down the heart, lungs, kidneys, liver, and brain. So why should we worry? It's there, not here. 

The heatwave in India is already having an impact on the global economy, sending the price of wheat to a record high and prompting India to ban exports at a time when the war in Ukraine has already distressed the grain market.  

 Here in the United States, there have been disasters directly related to climate change, including long-term drought in the western states. Texas, for example, continues to struggle with its overtaxed power grid with the hot weather, making it more likely that it will fail again this summer.  

https://www.houstonchronicle.com/business/energy/article/power-grid-challenges-17185682.php

Texans are already being asked to conserve power to avoid a failure of the system. 

And then there is the cost of energy. It's not just the price of gasoline.  Your electric bill is likely to skyrocket this summer even if you keep your thermostat at 78 or higher, and even if you live in cooler summer climates, like New England.  

The bottom line is that our politicians and our citizens keep getting distracted from the major disaster that awaits us within the next 50 years--a dramatic change in climate that could threaten our ability to survive as a species. 

It's like a gradual drip in your bathroom faucet. Eventually it becomes a major leak, and you have to replace the whole sink, or perhaps even the floor.  The problem is, we don't have a replacement planet.

Some people will say oh, well, it's the weather. Not much we can do about it. 

But there is. 

Turn the thermostat up a bit more this summer, turn out lights you are not using, don't water the grass, drive as little as possible and recycle plastics, metals and paper as much as you can. And more importantly, bug your political representatives as much as possible to go after industry. We must get them to be more energy and water efficient. Your children and grandchildren's lives may depend on it. We also need to support alternative energy sources like wind and solar, which have less impact on the overall climate. 

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/climate-change-heat-wave-india-uk-met-study-who-will-suffer-most/

We'll Always Have Parris!

Paris, France maybe, but not Parris Island, South Carolina, which is now threatened. 

Rising seas are encroaching on the iconic military base there, where thousands of U.S. Marines trained for more than a hundred years.  My father trained there before he went overseas during World War Two. 

(Marine base on Parris Island, Courtesy Library of Congress) 

The Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island is vulnerable to flooding, coastal erosion and other impacts of climate change. The base consists of 8,095 acres. 

The threats have been highlighted in military reports on the base for years, but it is getting worse. 

https://www.usnews.com/news/us/articles/2022-05-21/parris-island-wages-battles-not-war-against-climate-change

Low lying areas on the island and the nearby Marine Corps Air Station have already flooded about ten times a year, and scientists say by 2050 parts of the base could be under water for several months of the year.  

For now, the solution may be seawalls, which would be much cheaper than re-locating the base. But that would be short term. Some scientists project that by 2099, three-quarters of the entire island could be under water during high tide each day. So, the Marine Corps has considered closing the base, even though replacing it will cost billions of dollars.    

And it's not just the water. The overall climate there has become wetter and hotter in general. Between 2016 and 2020, more than 500 people on the island have suffered from heat stroke or heat exhaustion. 

Climate change has real consequences, and things are getting worse. But Congress, particularly Republicans, seem too worried about trivial issues like "woke" culture, to tackle the real impacts of climate change. 

From Russia, With Love

It's clear that former Senators John McCain (R-Ariz), Harry Reid (D-Nev), and Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), won't be visiting Russia any time soon. They are all deceased. Yet the Russians chose to include all three men on a list released on Saturday that bans 963 Americans from entering their country.  

Notably absent from the list of unwelcome Americans is Donald Trump. Apparently, he can visit. And so can senators Mitch McConnell and Rand Paul.  They are all not on the ban list. 

But the list does include President Biden, House

Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, and Speaker of The House Nancy Pelosi, along with dozens of other members of Congress. 

It's an interesting bipartisan list. For example, the Russians have banned both Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), and Marjorie Taylor Greene, (R-Ga). 

Many U.S. Senators and Congress members did make the list, including both my Senators from Virgnia, Tim Kaine and Mark Warner, and my Congresswoman, Abigail Spanberger. And for their opposition to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, I complement them. 

Russia's list also banned Hillary Clinton, but surprisingly not her husband, the former President.  But it included Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Microsoft President Brad Smith.   

A number of reporters are also banned from entering Russia, most notably Susan Glasser from the New Yorker and Brett Stephens from The New York Times. George Stephanopoulos from ABC News, who previously worked for the Clinton Administration, was also banned. 

And the list even included actors Morgan Freeman and Rob Reiner, who are involved in a group called The Committee to Investigate Russia. Putin just doesn't like criticism. 

Of particular note: no one from Fox News was banned by Russia. 

All of this, of course, is related to Putin's unjustified and brutal invasion of Ukraine. 

There were 86 people on the blacklist just labeled U.S. citizens.  

Some of those on the list, like Senator Kaine, responded on social media, calling the ban a "badge of honor."  

The United States has been supplying weapons and other types of aid to Ukraine since the Russian invasion began and has put some strict economic sanctions on Russia as well.  A recent ABC/Washington Post poll shows 73% of the American public support U.S. policy on Ukraine. 

A few other notables on the banned list who are not in public office: 

The President's two sons Joseph and Hunter, political commentator David Axelrod, Democratic strategist Donna Brazille.

I am certainly against everything Putin stands for, including his brutal invasion and mass murders in Ukraine. I had no plans to visit Russia, but like many Americans, I am disappointed I didn't make this list.  

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/05/21/russia-bans-963-americans-ukraine-biden/

Asteroid Alert!

Don't panic, but another big asteroid is headed our way. It's the size of the Empire State Building and it will come close to earth on Friday (5/27).  

(Asteroid 7335)

NASA's Center for Near Earth Object Studies says the asteroid, dubbed 7335 (1989) will miss the planet by 2.5 million miles. But since it's so big it's been declared "potentially hazardous" because it could do big damage if the orbit ever changes or if pieces should fall off.  It's not going to come this way again until June of 2055. 

This asteroid is one of more than 29,000 near earth objects that NASA tracks each year. Most of them are much smaller. The space agency recently launched a mission to test whether hazardous asteroids can be deflected if they were actually headed for earth. The Double Asteroid Redirection Test or DART as it's called will collide head on with the 525-foot wide Dimorphos asteroid this fall. The craft won't destroy the asteroid, just change its course. 

For now though, 7335 will rush safely past Earth at 47,200 miles per hour.  

https://www.livescience.com/asteroid-encounter-7335-1989-JA

Dumbest Quote of The Week! 

Most of the time I will pick up on some dumb quote made by a national politician or celebrity, but this week's dumb quote is totally local. Even if you don't live here in Spotsylvania County, Virginia, you can see why I chose it as this week's dumbest quote. I will set this up so it's in context. 

It comes from the county school board, which has been in disarray ever since partisan members were elected to the supposedly non-partisan board last year. It is typical of the type of nonsense we are seeing on school boards across the country since Trumpism found its way down to the local level. First, the Spotsylvania Board fired a beloved superintendent for no apparent reason other than they just didn't like him. Then they had a heated, often misinformation-filled debate about banning books, which is still under the surface and remains a menace to free speech.  Someone on the Board did, however, come up with one good idea. They are going to set up a School Board Student Council which they can periodically meet with to find out what's on the student's minds. It will be made up of the Student Government presidents from each of the district's high schools and another member from each high school, either elected by their peers or appointed by the school principal. 

It's always a good idea for a school board to hear from students. In fact, this particular school board got an earful of dissent from students when they tried to ban some popular books from school libraries.     

But some of the Board members just don't get it. The students should be their focus. The Board is not just a step to higher office.  

Here is the dumb quote from Spotsylvania County School Board member April Gillespie as reported in the Fredericksburg Free-Lance Star. She said she doesn't want the School Board council to be involved in "activism."

"I would not want a school-sanctioned committee to encourage student activism. Activism is what occurs when a student participates in political things or things that don't affect them as a child. "

She went on:

"When children are up here advocating for a school budget or for their teachers to get more money, that's nice and all. However, when I was their age, I was worried about what I was going to wear the next day, I wasn't worried about the political issues that were being set in front of our community."

So now you know why there is total disarray on local school boards. Many of them are just simply not tuned in. Sixteen to 18 -year-old high school students are not "children" and shouldn't be treated like they are. We need MORE young people to care about what is going on in their community. They should get involved and be "active." 

Gillespie's comment show how out of touch she is with today's high school students. Example: last week, high school students in various parts of Virginia, including Spotsylvania County, staged before and after school protests over the pending SCOTUS decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. In other words, it was student "activism" on things that matter to them.  These young people are our country's future, and they care about what our country will be like in years to come. Apparently, some school boards don't care and that has the potential for great harm. 

(Your comments and suggestions are welcome) 

(My book "The Campaign" can be purchased at the links below. Or you can buy a copy by emailing me at:

HankSilverberg@gmail.com for instructions on how to get a copy at a reduced price and with my signature.)                       

 

https://www.amazon.com/Campaign-Hank-Silverberg/dp/1543422608

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-campaign-hank-silverberg/1126429796